


The End?

by DarkQueenSigyn



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fix-it fic, Gen, MAJOR spoilers for Infinity War, OC/Canon character - Freeform, Spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok, infinity war fix-it fic, mentions of death and torture, multiple mentions of alcohol, shameless self-insertion, some traumatic canonical events are mentioned, spoilers all around, spoilers for Age of Ultron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 14:31:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14673096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkQueenSigyn/pseuds/DarkQueenSigyn
Summary: Jenna Campbell, former agent of SHIELD, has a nightmare. A nightmare that feels so real that she calls her friend and former teammate Tony Stark, who helps her remember what's real and what isn't. Was it really a dream? Is this ideal reality merely a creation by the Soul Stone? Who cares? We all just need some canon-condemning fluff after Infinity War.





	The End?

"No, no, no, no, no!!"

Jenna woke up screaming. As her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright in her bed, the remnants of the dream stayed with her as she got her bearings.

A sea of inhuman beasts bearing down on the Wakandan hills. Loki's bent, broken, and bleeding body cradled in his sobbing brother's arms. Gamora, teeth bared in a scream of rage, as she thrashed against her tormentor's grip. Nebula howling in pain as she was tortured. Wanda crying as Vision was torn apart, twice over. Friends, loved ones, allies, even strangers, all fading and turning to dust.

She was still shaking even as the images ebbed from behind her eyes.

It's just a dream, she told herself. It's just a dream.

Isn't it?

She reached out, her hand fumbling to flick on the lamp, and then finally finding her phone where it rested on her bedside table. Taking a few deep breaths, she steadied herself enough to press the button for speed dial and press the phone to her ear.

One ring. Two rings.

"Hello?"

The voice was dry and raspy from sleep, but familiar all the same.

"Tony," Jenna breathed, a sense of relief washing over her. "Thank goodness."

"Campbell...you're aware of what time it is, right?"

"Yes, I know, and I apologize for that, I just...I needed to know."

"Know what?" Tony was starting to sound a bit more awake now. "What's going on, kid?"

Jenna sighed. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but...I had a nightmare. Just, the worst type of nightmare. It felt so real. Like I was there, like I was living it. You remember that dream you had, about Pepper being pregnant? It was like that, only awful."

"...Okay."

For a moment, both of them were silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tony asked, and Jenna sighed with relief.

He listened as she told him as much of the dream as she could remember, in as much detail as she could. Interplanetary war, casualties en masse, a battle ultimately lost. A worst nightmare that Tony could recognize as being one of his own as well.

"Holy shit," Tony murmured, when the whole tale was out in the open. "You're not allowed to have caffeine before you go to bed anymore, okay? I'm gonna send you a palette of flavored water, top brand. Maybe get you some half-decent therapy, too."

In spite of herself, Jenna had to laugh.

"Speak for yourself, Tony."

Stark merely snorted.

"So..." Jenna went on. "None of that was real, right? It didn't actually happen?"

"Hell no," Tony answered. "Last time I checked, I wasn't stuck on a deserted planet with some robot chick. I'm right here, at my place, and Pepper's asleep in the next room."

"And the others, they're all okay, too?"

"Yeah. The kid, Peter, he's fine. He's back in Queens with his aunt, and presumably his new girlfriend. What was her name again, Madge? Mallory?"

"Michelle," Jenna whispered, as the thought came back to her.

"That's the one. Sam, well, I'd assume he's still running things at the Tower. He took on the Cap name after Rogers retired, that was months ago. Who, by the way, is probably sitting pretty in Fiji somewhere with Barnes, now that his brain's been all unscrambled."

The thought made Jenna smile.

"Speaking of which, business is booming over in Wakanda. T'Challa's still in power; heck, he's on TV so often I'm pretty sure I'd know about it if he'd suddenly vanished off the face of the Earth. That kid sister of his, I like her. Probably the only person I've ever met that I can't outsmart. I mean, aside from Pepper, anyway."

There was genuine admiration in Tony's voice, and it made Jenna chuckle softly.

"What else, uh...oh, right, Nat. She went off the grid not too long ago, but you know her, she lets us know in her own way that she's doing alright. Pretty sure she shacked up with Clint and his family; who by the way would be very offended that he wasn't in this dream of yours."

Jenna laughed once again. "Hey, take it up with my subconscious," she joked. "She's not with Bruce?"

"Nah, pretty sure the only trip those two are taking is a one-way to Donesville. Bruce still drops by the lab every now and again, though, he's doing well. Also, Fury and Hill didn't go anywhere, either, they tend to pop up when we least expect them to."

"That's always the way with them, isn't it?"

"For sure. SHIELD may be over and done with, but those two aren't planning on retiring anytime soon."

Though Jenna was already feeling better, her mind was still racing. "What about the Guardians?"

"Who?" Tony asked. "Oh, right, the...aliens? You mentioned them a few times. Honestly, kid, I think you must have made them up. Pretty sure a humanoid tree creature and a talking raccoon with a machine gun are things I would remember seeing, no matter how drunk I may have been at the time."

Jenna found the thought comforting, knowing that the team of space adventurers hadn't yet made their way to Earth. That meant all of them; Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket, Mantis, and Nebula, were safe.

"I also can't say I've ever met a wizard, least of all one named Strange," Tony added, and Jenna smirked.

"Right, that...that was pretty weird," she mused. "Might have been something from one of my failed manuscripts."

"Not one of your better ones, kid," Tony teased. "You better give that one to Wanda and let her make some edits."

"Wanda," Jenna echoed, and her heart suddenly lurched in her chest. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry," Tony reassured her. "She's still in Scotland, with Vision. They're on their honeymoon, they'll be back at the end of the month. Remember? You were at the wedding, you were her maid of honor. You and Pietro did the tarantella dance."

"Pietro's alive?!"

Tony was momentarily stunned. "Wow, that...that dream really did a number on your head, didn't it?"

"I guess so..." Jenna conceded. "But still, just humor me. How did he survive Sokovia? After he got shot?"

"Dr. Cho fixed him up," Tony answered, a smile in his voice. "Took him a while to fully recover, he's taking things a lot slower than he used to. But he's right back to driving us all crazy, my hand to God."

Jenna sighed in relief, feeling better than ever. "That's...fantastic."

"Did I miss anybody?"

She thought for a moment. "Yeah, you did," she pointed out. "Thor."

"Ah, Point Break," Tony chuckled. "He came back to Earth a while back, sporting a buzz cut and missing an eye. But he and Jane got back together, so I think his days of randomly flying off into the sunset are over for now. He's leaving that to his buddies, the big dude with the dreads and the lady with the big sword and a drinking problem that's somehow even worse than mine."

"Heimdall and Valkyrie!" Jenna said excitedly, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, thank you," Tony said casually. "Good thing one of us has a head for names, gets me in trouble all the time at press conferences."

Jenna laughed briefly, but then a thought came to her that made her smile falter.

"And...Loki's still dead, right? He's been dead for years now."

Tony paused, and then made a quiet, amused noise.

"Kid, I know that was one hell of a dream, but...you of all people ought to know where Rock of Ages ended up."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll find out," Tony replied. "For now, can I go back to bed? I'm pretty sure I covered everything."

"Right, yeah, four in the morning," Jenna said quickly. "Sorry! Thank you, for...jogging my memory. I feel much better now. It was just a really crazy, terrible dream."

"Exactly," Tony said. "Any time, Campbell. You try and get some rest too, okay? I'll see you around."

"See you, Tony," Jenna said with a smile, and hung up the phone.

As she set her phone aside and laid back down on her bed, Tony's words made more and more memories start to resurface, and the lingering remnants of her nightmare became less and less frightening.

None of it was real. It never happened.

She was just beginning to close her eyes again, when the door to her bedroom suddenly opened.

For the second time that night she bolted upright, ready to spring out of bed and grab one of her weapons if necessary.

The figure emerged into her room, the light from the lamp illuminating his face.

"Darling?"

Jenna's fear and apprehension quickly ebbed, and was replaced with astonishment.

Loki stood before her, dressed in Earth civilian clothes. His long ebony hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, a section of it braided along the side of his head. She had never seen him look so...healthy.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he asked her.

Jenna all but leaped out of bed, dashing across the space between them and throwing her arms around him. She half-expected him to be an illusion, or a ghostly apparition; that she would simply pass straight through him. But his form was warm and solid, and she fell against his chest as his arms quickly came up to embrace her.

Loki held her close, and his soft chuckle resonated through her. "Miss me?" he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"You have no idea," Jenna murmured into his shirt.

Loki drew back just enough to look her in the eyes, bringing a hand up to cradle her face as he trailed kisses across her forehead, her temple, her cheekbone.

"I'm sorry for being out so late," he said softly, his fingers toying with a lock of Jenna's hair. "Someone has to keep an eye on Selvig when he has too much of the drink in him."

Jenna's eyes were wide as she took in Loki, her gaze flickering over every detail of his face. Processing the fact that he was real. He was there, alive, well, body and mind intact and evidently not in the midst of some nefarious scheme.

More than that, her eyes found his hand where it was occupied with her hair; his left hand. His ring finger bore a gold band, intricately engraved with Nordic runes.

For the first time, Jenna glanced towards her own left hand, and noticed the ring on her own finger: a similar gold band with the same pattern engraved, this one set with a sparkling gemstone.

It was almost too good to be true.

"Loki..." she whispered, overwhelmed; as tears of joy began to sting at her eyes.

"What's wrong, my love?" he asked, his hand brushing her hair away from her face as he noticed her distress. "You look pale. Well...paler than usual."

In spite of herself, Jenna cracked half a smile, and she just about jumped upward to kiss his lips. Both of his arms moved to encircle her waist, easily holding her aloft.

"I..." she breathed once the kiss finally broke, dropping her head onto his shoulder. "I thought you were dead."

Before he had a chance to react, the words kept tumbling from Jenna's lips. "I had a dream, a terrible dream. Kurse killed you, on Svartalfheim, you were gone for so long, and then...I found you again, I'd just gotten you back, and Thanos--"

She almost choked on the name, and Loki brought a hand up to stroke the back of her head; now holding her up with just one arm.

"Shh, my darling, it's alright," he told her soothingly. "That mad titan is gone. He can never bring harm to us, or anyone else, ever again."

His gentle touch, and the sound of his voice, made Jenna start to relax again. She picked her head up again, her eyes closing as her forehead touched Loki's.

"You're here," she whispered. "You're really here."

His fingers traced her cheek as they pulled each other into another kiss, and then another, and another.

"I'm here," he murmured against her mouth between kisses. "I'm home."

Then he dropped his head down to kiss her neck instead, and all thoughts of her dream were banished completely from her mind.


End file.
